Indigenous Impact Weekly, Celebrating Leaders and Changemakers
Jahna Cedar is a Nyiyaparli and Yindjibarndi woman from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with ancestral ties to the Bardi Gija people of the Kimberleys. She grew up between Marble Bar and Port Hedland and has been a passionate advocate for Aboriginal people and in particular, Indigenous women and youth. A dedicated advocate for equal rights, social justice and reconciliation, Jahna has built a substantial repertoire that puts her in high-demand.
Interview conducted by Harrison French, Communications specialist
Jahna Cedar runs her own consulting firm called Jahna Cedar Consulting, which specialises in consultancy and advisory services, coaching and mentoring, training delivery and facilitation. Jahna was the youngest woman to be elected to the West Australian International Women's Day Hall of Fame in 2012. She received the medal of the Order of Australia in 2020 for service to the Aboriginal community in Western Australia and in 2022 was the WA winner of the Australian Awards for Excellence in Women's Leadership. She is the Co-Chair of First Nations X and was a founding member of the Blak Angel Investors in 2025. She is a council member of the Institute of Community Directors Australia (ICDA), Deputy Chair of Lowitja Institute, and a Director of North Metropolitan Health Services and the Western Australian Aboriginal Leadership Institute, and a Board member of Binar Futures.
Jahna grew up amongst the red earth and turquoise waters of the Pilbara, a region that holds some of the most breathtaking and exquisite natural landscapes in Australia. Her upbringing instilled in her the importance of respecting cultural protocols and giving back to the community led by her grandmother.
“I got to see my grandmother, showing the gift of service and volunteering. She's in her 80s, and still volunteers in so many different capacities and from that, leadership begins. It is the ability to be able to give back to the community that fills my cup. The spirit of servant leadership, which is integral to my identity and hopefully something that I'm building within my children. Growing up in the bush, I’ve learnt the importance of respecting cultural protocols, seeking guidance and approvals where required, and remaining humble. I'm blessed now, to have a trusted group of Elders that I seek a lot of direction from.”
Jahna is widely recognised as an inspiring role model for young Indigenous women, celebrated for her outstanding advocacy for rights and equality. As part of the Australian Government delegation to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, she played a pivotal role in achieving a historic outcome. For the first time, the agreed conclusions incorporated language from the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and acknowledged the protection of ancestral knowledge and traditional rights. This milestone marked a significant shift in global recognition of Indigenous women’s voices and contributions. Jahna suggests that giving young women confidence is paramount.
"When young women see role models who look like them, speak like them, and carry culture proudly, they see proof that they belong in those spaces too. It’s not something to fear or feel imposter syndrome about, they can own and navigate that space. If those of us in corporate or leadership roles can mentor and walk alongside them, we’re not just opening doors, we’re building a stronger community and a better legacy.”
Truth-telling for Jahna is critical to Indigenous engagement that is constructive and does not get marred in debates of the past.
"It is essential for genuine Indigenous engagement. It’s about understanding our shared past so we can walk together in the present and build a strong legacy for the future. Moving forward means acknowledging where we’ve come from, recognising that the creation of this nation came with deep historical and ongoing injustices. Honest conversations that are raw and vulnerable, without blame, give us the foundation to heal and progress together."
Jahna gave a powerful TedX speech called Balancing cultures: Walking in Two Worlds, which discussed her personal experience and expressed her wishes for the future of Indigenous leadership. Jahna states the economic empowerment for Indigenous peoples and communities stems from genuine social and cultural investment.
“Supply Nation’s latest report, The Sleeping Giant Rises, shows that for every dollar invested in an Aboriginal business, there’s a $4 return in social reinvestment. That’s because we don’t just generate revenue, we channel it back into our communities, creating lasting cultural, social, and economic impact.”
Jahna says Indigenous communities have innovation, cultural intelligence and community impact as the Supply Nations report states. The report mentions that 'We’re employing our own mob at 12 times higher rates than non Indigenous businesses are, and that as Aboriginal businesses, we're contributing $16 billion to the economy'. For future growth of Indigenous entrepreneurship and economic development, Jahna explains that genuine partnership and agreements are needed.
“What we actually need is to build the cultural competency of external businesses to want to engage with us in a more meaningful aspect, not just piecemeal, little, tiny contracts, but give us long term, sustainable projects to work on, because we know the answers to these issues”.
Furthermore, to incorporate more Indigenous voices in decision-making there are some systemic changes that need to be implemented. This needs to be oriented around Indigenous peoples, culture and knowledge.
“Too often systems extract our voices, our stories and our insights, but they fail to shift their practice. They cannot continue to consult in a tick the box type of way. Rather than coming in with a predetermined agenda or outcome, we actually need to advance with some return of power to our mob. We keep pushing self determination and what it really means. Well, it is designing and owning that agenda. It's leading on our terms, not on the timelines dictated by someone else, and that means some transformational internal policy reform that needs to happen at a government level.”
Jahna’s approach to working with Indigenous youth is primarily associated with her willingness to give back to the community. She is passionate about aligning her work with the areas her children are interested in and giving youth an opportunity to fulfil their ambitions.
“It really is, 'how can we meet the youth where they are', acknowledging that everybody's on different trajectories, also acknowledging that a lot of the careers that they will enter into are things that we've not even thought of yet when we look at the advancement of innovation and AI and so how can we mentor our youth in those spaces, showing them that they have all of the answers within themselves. We're just coaching them to be safe, healthy individuals.”